Michael and Samantha built an ATM network over more than 28 years and sold it after it reached an eight-figure valuation. They discuss partnerships, exit decisions, negotiation, and their move into investing.
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About the guest
Michael and Samantha. Michael and Samantha spent over 28 years building one of the country's five largest ATM networks and exited the business after it reached an eight-figure valuation. They now invest their own wealth and focus on passive investing, reducing tax liabilities where possible, and helping others pursue financial independence.
Key takeaways
- They built a wholesale program around predictable returns and a win-win-win for the company, clients, and clients' customers.
- Michael says serving ATM owners and cardholders helped the business grow faster than focusing on being served.
- They viewed competitors as potential partners and formed a buying group to negotiate together.
- Samantha recommends deciding what outcome you want from a sale and keeping that goal in view during negotiations.
- She kept multiple potential buyers in play and tailored the company's appeal to each buyer's interests.
- They felt ready to sell because their savings and investments could support their lifestyle, while Samantha also saw a new round of industry mergers as a timely opportunity.
- Samantha says to structure a sale so you receive the agreed payment, including any later payments tied to consulting or other terms.
- For networking, Samantha recommends getting to know a person's goals before bringing them an investment, rather than pitching immediately.
- Their win-win-win approach means each party should benefit from a deal; Samantha warns that squeezing a vendor may make them unavailable when needed.
- Michael advises founders to find experienced people who can help them scale faster, since delays can cost opportunities.
Best quotes
"Look, if we can come up with a program where we're not cons consistently renegotiating somebody else's portion, like they always know what they're going to make and it's a win-winwin."
"If we serve our client, which is the ATM owner, and then serve the card holder, we will get served later."
"We looked at them as potential partners."
"if you really think about the pie is big the world is abundant there's plenty for everybody just find ways to work together that work well with the right partners then it it works"
"one of them is you need to know your own outcome like what is it you're looking for"
"So we could actually retire just based on the money that we had put away over the years."
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